Only in China, Part 2

Ok, I decided to take my previous post down until further notice... in the meantime, here are some more videos and pictures that I think you'll find amusing.

Only in China can an 8-year old get away with this morning delight, but you have to be 18 to go into an internet cafe (apparently there is a big problem with video-gaming here):

Credit for this gem goes to Shepard Hallberg

Only in China, does a party at a roller-skating disco club end with this entertainment:

I came across this dance party near my house last weekend... why can't we all be this young and free?

This one is a last-minute addition... I didn't notice that there was anything weird about the placement of this fish tank in my metro station because I see it every day.. but then I realised that a fish tank in a metro station is perhaps not the definition of "normal".

Yea... life is anything but normal...

Another interesting cultural experience

I had an interesting night last night.  For the first time since I've been out here, I found myself to be the victim (if you will) of some very interesting harassment.. and dare I go so far as to say discrimination. My friends and I went out to a Chinese club to partake in the "Singles Day" festivities that go on here every 11th of November (it's a big deal here, don't ask me why). And we've been to a lot of Chinese clubs.. actually most of the places we go are almost exclusively Chinese, and it's always a really fun, crazy time.  Last night, however, was a different story.

I'm not really going to go into all of the details, but here are some highlights:

My friend Thomas (a fellow European... this is relevant) and I were desperate to put our coats down, so we walked around for a while trying to find the coat-check room, and after finding one abandoned coat-check room, we were starting to get rather antsy and finally starting asking people for directions.  We eventually found one, in a hallway saturated with people trying to retrieve their things in a very disorderly manner.  So, after waiting for half an hour in that line, we decided to give up and try to stash our coats elsewhere.  We were then directed by someone to a coat check upstairs in a quieter part of the club.  We went and waited for 10 more minutes, and finally, as we could start to taste the freedom of our unweighed-down hands, we started being yelled at by the attendant that she was no longer accepting anything in the coat check because it was "full".  I believe that the word "full" is up for interpretation here... some free hangers and cubby holes in the room attest to that.  So, of course, in full form, Thomas, Nikolaus (another European we were with), and I start yelling at the lady about how ridiculous she's being/there's clearly still room/we'll pay her to just shove our stuff on the floor... and she aggressively shrieked back at us some stupid answer in Chinese.  We all calmly walked away, cursing at her in our respective languages (as it were, the combination of French, German, and Arabic sounded pretty awesome). We later found out that the club was purposely not accepting coats from Europeans (or probably anyone else who wasn't Chinese)... and it still doesn't really end there.

This is my favourite part: later, after cooling off and having a drink, the 3 of us were dancing on stage, so I put my jacket and hoodie down between my feet so I could use my full range of motion for fist-pumping (as one does), and after a few minutes, a bouncer shined a flashlight on them and asked me to pick them up. So, I obliged, only to then find another bouncer in front of me yelling at me in Chinese about what was "evidently" the outerwear I had stolen from the floor from between MY feet.  And how did I prove that the jacket and hoodie were mine? I showed him the labels... a woman's extra small and a men's large (I repeat: men's large), and that was sufficient for the man to confirm my ownership of the clothes that I had been forced to clutch protectively all night anyway. Cute.

Well, as my friend Rob said, Shanghai has it's highs and lows, and it's important just to ride it all out and take them for what they're worth... so even though I ended up walking 45 minutes in the cold to get home from my office yesterday (I was rejected by 4 cabbies), and even though I was the innocent victim of random harassment what felt like 80 times last night, I still love this city.. where else can we order McDonald's delivery at 4 in the morning to ease the pain of what had happened to us that night? (yes, it's true, and I'm not proud of it). And where else, dare I ask, does one have a realtor that goes by the name of Celery? Find me the answer, and perhaps I'll concede that Shanghai isn't the best city in the world.. but I doubt that will happen.

Only in China...

...do these unidentified creatures show up at clubs and dance with the crowd

But seriously... what is this?

...do they serve fruit at clubs

A good way to counter-balance the effects of alcohol?

...do dancers dance under a shower head on a platform for all to see

"It's raining men" or it's raining on men?

Well I don't even know what to say about this...

What?

...or this...

But seriously... what?

That's all for now... I realise that most of my pictures suggest that all I do out here is party, but I'm actually updating this from my office right now, so there's some proof for you that I work, too...

Some social commentary...

I've been here just over a week now, and it still hasn't particularly "hit me" that I'm living in Shanghai... but I know I'm not in Kansas anymore, as they say.  Every day here is just one crazy experience after another, each of which is slowly helping realise that, yes, I am here.  Perhaps I'll start with the people:

I've had (and heard of) a few interesting experiences that are starting to define my time here.  The first of which happened to my friend Chris a few weeks ago.  I need to preface this with a brief explanation of Chris: he is a contagiously happy person, always with a huge smile on his face.. to me, Chris literally exemplifies the term "bright eyed", and everyone who knows him would agree.  Now one day, Chris was late to go tutor a student who lives a bit farther out of the city.  (In general, it's pretty easy to take cabs out here if you can figure out how to pronounce the street names (a skill I still struggle with), and the occasional cabbie will, unfortunately, turn you down if he feels like it.) Well, on this particular day, Chris was having trouble communicating to the driver where he wanted to go, and panicked and in a hurry, he found himself in the middle of a heated "discussion" with a driver who wouldn't take him where he needed to go.  And just as the wonderfully positive Chris was beginning to lose faith in the people of this city, in swooped (almost literally) his very own version of a one-manned A-team... riding a vespa.  The man couldn't help but notice that Chris was dismayed, and after reading the address of his far-away destination, the man motioned to the back of his vespa and insisted that Chris hop on for a ride.  Perhaps if this had happened to Chris in another country, he might have been weary of this potentially creepy stranger's random kindness, but in Shanghai, anything goes, so he hopped on and hoped for the best.  It was a long ride to the student's house, and our vespa hero professionally navigated the bumpy streets (and sidewalks) of Shanghai to get Chris to his meeting on time.. and even refused to take money for it.  So, Chris's faith (and smile) were restored, and he now happily wanders the streets of the city with a new perception of the people around him.

I had a similarly positive experience with some Shanghainese citizens the other day, though not to the extent that Chris did.  It was pouring with rain (I, of course, don't own an umbrella and refuse to buy one until I can masterfully negotiate prices in Mandarin.. I'm Arab; I can't help it), and I was apartment hunting around the city.  After I left an apartment, I stood under an awning waiting for the rain to ease up when an old man turned to me and motioned to join him under his umbrella.  So I obliged, and he tightly linked arms with me and enthusiastically walked me through the long driveway, where we were met with whoops of happiness from the building's security guard.  Thankfully, I was able to communicate to him where I was going... and he refused to let go of me until I was safely under another dry awning (actually, he got behind me and pushed me into the awning at this point, but it was still really cute).  We said goodbye and parted ways.  Then, a few hours later, I was waiting to cross the street, soaking wet, and another old man joined me with his umbrella.  He again asked me where I was going, and even though our destinations differed, he walked me as far as he could and then told me the word for umbrella (which I now forget) and told me where I could buy one.  Now, I know people in this city are supposed to be "tough", but in years of living in London and the states, no one has ever done this for me.  Even if this is a rare occurrence, it was still a great way to be welcomed into the rainy weather of the city.  I still don't own an umbrella... let's see how long I can keep this going for.

My third little story is less about heros and more an observation about my uselessness as a person... I was at a classical music concert this weekend, and the performance hall also happened to be home to about 30 grand pianos being displayed around the building.  During the intermission, I noticed that each piano was being occupied by a child from the audience, and that each child was playing (absolutely beautifully) some really advanced music.  Emphasis on "child" and emphasis on "advanced".  And while these children were playing, their parents stood over them (proudly, I hope) watching critically.  It was fascinating.  I can't get anyone to so much as glance my way when I sit in front of a piano, and here I was watching about 30 mini concertos all being performed by children less than half of my age... no wonder the Beijing opening ceremonies were so brilliant... no wonder I think I'm useless.

Anyway, as I said, each day here is filled with new eye-opening experiences, and I can never get enough.  Maybe when I do, I'll finally decide to leave.. but I don't see that happening any time soon.

Is this real?

So, I realise I’ve been completely lacking on the updates… needless to say, life has been very eventful since I finally made it out East.  Here are some of the things I've been up to:

I learned what my name looks like in Chinese (notice: I did not even attempt to learn how to write it, rather I just know what it looks like):

I learned that they do, in fact, celebrate Halloween here... and very well I might add.  

Club 88, Shanghai

(However, I was STILL asked to pose for many pictures with locals, and many of whom were dressed up quite well, too! Must have been the mohawk I was sporting...)  The plus side is I'm perfecting the art of posing with a peace sign; it's a great skill to have out here.

Oh, and I watched my friends film an amazing music video for a song they wrote... and attract a crowd of well over 100 people while doing it.  (Someone even offered to pay Zach to keep rapping for the crowd).

W. Nanjing Rd.

On another note, Shanghai is one of the most inspiring places I've ever been to.. I don't even know how to begin describing the feelings this marvellous city evokes in me.  If these first few days are any indication of what my time here is going to be like, China might have a big, big problem getting rid of this expat.  I'll update again soon, perhaps with a longer narrative (once I finally figure out how to begin this epic tale I'm finding myself a part of).  Until next time...